ImageFX versus Photoshop?!

[Nick]

I think Photoshop is a little less flakey than ImageFX, but thas all down to speed.

And I`m not new to photoshop. I did a course and photoshop was part of it in its own way. Yes I tried to cut it out when ever possible, but hey I used it enough.

TVPaint is by far the best way of actually drawing. Not great at effects or filters etc, but the best for creating stuff.

I wish i could program, cause I`ve been designing a paint package. Reality bites yet again!

Nick try Aura2 its basically 'next generation TVPaint' ...I prefer it for creation most of the time... it can even use all 3rd party photoshop filters.. well 'most' anyway.,..and it can apply them to video... wich is pretty cool... so its got some AE type features.

[Ponos2D]

Hey Nick-Slack!

I have same thought as you about TVPaint!

BTW I'm learning C++ at college!

Apples and oranges, really.

PS is an excellent photo retoucher, and in many ways it is better than IFX doing that, though IFX is also very good in that dept.  IFX on the other hand is an awesomely powerful image processor, to include outstanding batch and video processing features, and in that dept PS is surprisingly weak.  In fact, the vast majority of IFX's image/batch/video processing feature set doesn't even overlap with PS.

PS is a better match with Art Effect4.  Using both regularly, I'd say AE4 isn't quite as good overall, though it does do a few things better and is less than 10% the price of PS.  

"IFX is slow... try loading a 3000x3000 IIF into it... and watch it crash and burn.. "

Hmmm, I use IFX to process enormous files regularly ("" 600 dpi scans, about 100MBs per, around 6600x4800 pixels), and I haven't had any problems with it.

I wasn't expecting to see Dogwaffle in there.  I like blurbs.

[Targhan]

Photoshop vs. ImageFX.  Considering the dent in the wallet as well as
the abilities of each program, ImageFX is far superior.  The
difference in effects does not justify the cost difference.  However,
I will also note that many proffessionals use both.

Even in the Amiga heyday, art would start in app1, then go to app2,
then app3, etc.  Because certain functions of certain applications
feel better in one or another.  

Arteffect 4 all the way for me, way more easy to use than ImageFX.


 

[Targhan]

Hey, I didn't slam ArtEffect.  I like both, and I use both ;-)

[HolgerB]

If you like Photogenics, then take a look at fxPaint. It's a great
application and very similar. At least the WarpOs-Version is quite
fast and really fun to use. And I'm sure there will be an update
when AmigaOS4 is released.

Regards,
Holger Biehl

[jd997uk]

@The_Editor
Hey, I've got both versions of Brilliance and as far as I'm concerned it's in a league of its own. Rock solid stability, and easy to learn/use. A big plus is the was the menu system can be switched around useing the numeric keypad, a, err, brilliant idea.

Unfortunately, Digital Creations (the publishers) were swallowed by Play Inc, who subsequently went bust. So unless there is someone out there who knows any of the original programmers, the chances of anyone re-sourcing a program written in 100% Assembler is pretty remote.
Bear in mind I paid £140 for Brilliance 1 and a further£40 for Brilliance 2, I'd quite happily pay over £100 again for an updated PPC/RTG version, but sadly I cannot see it happening.

Oh (swerving wildly back on topic), IFX vs Photoshop. Anything like this is always subjective, it's difficult sometimes to pick app X over app Y. Anyway I use both regularly. Batch processing wise, there is no competition, IFX stomps mercylessly all of Adobe's effort (in fact it's so one-sided that IFX could be accused of bullying :-D ). Each of the apps have many merits of their own, but for me, I prefer the way IFX does things.

-john

[Bobsonsirjonny]

I cant really comment on ImageFX - having never really got to grips with the guts of it.

But photoshop is king for today. Right now I've just been helping a student. Poor lad was given this week to produce 15 seconds of animation, coloured up with a sound track... he hasn't even been taught the principles yet. Let alone how to use the software. Furthermore half the equipment that would help automate the task has yet to arrive. So I used my brain, and had a look at what we already had...

So we shot the line test on the EOS - used Premier to split it up back down into the individual frames. Used Photoshop Actions to clean the drawings up - make the lines darker, loose some of the smudges etc. And then used Actions to automate colouring up flood fill areas.

He's now going through colouring up the fiddly bits. Later on we will be back into Premier, glue the frames together - whack on a backing track and out onto miniDV :-)

Its cool, cos now you can do this stuff on a shoestring :pint:

Anyway - its Friday, most students have gone home for the holidays. I should be getting all my lovely bits and bobs on Monday - Equipment! Set it all up next week and it should all be hunky dory for them in the new year :-)

[Bobsonsirjonny]

Just out of interest - does ImageFX allow you to batch process a number of images as opposed to a folder?

I mean is it possible to get it to batch process frames 001 to 093 leaving 093 and upwards alone. That would be dead cool if it can.

If it could do that - and there was some modern decent animation software available for OS4/AmigaOne... well ... :-)

[gnarly]

Its cool, cos now you can do this stuff on a shoestring

Shoestring in the grand scheme of things maybe, but for the likes of me buying Photoshop and Premiere is fecking scary! :-)

Calm down, calm down, I did'nt say that you did.

Just saying what I prefer to use.

[jd997uk]

@Bobsonsirjonny

I mean is it possible to get it to batch process frames 001 to 093 leaving 093 and upwards alone. That would be dead cool if it can.

Yup, piece of cake. AutoFX (IFX's batch processor) can do that and more.
AutoFX is file rather than drawer (folder) orientated, so if you had a drawer with say 1000 files in it, you select only the ones you want to process. It's so easy it's scary. The other thing is your files can be in different folders and still be batch processed together. Very flexible. I'm getting my PC updated to an AthlonXP1800 today and I'm looking forward to running IFX on UAE. I'v got a big animation I want to do which uses the IFX cloud generator, a starfield generator, the PanCanvas and TimeMachine plugins and then Cinemorph to form a transition between two animations. All this is a little too much for my 1200/060 and I'm hoping that I'll get a decent speed increase as at DVD resolution (720x576) it'll take forever otherwise.

-john